Fergana to deploy AI in industry, expand logistics and e-commerce capacity

Reportedly, the AI adoption could cut production costs by up to 20% and raise enterprise revenues by up to 30%.

Authorities were instructed to develop a startup ecosystem, including cooperation with a foreign accelerator and 10 major regional enterprises. Pilot projects will focus on productivity gains, cost reduction and energy efficiency, with wider rollout planned for successful solutions.

E-commerce in Uzbekistan has grown 20-fold in five years, but Fergana accounts for 2.5% of the market. The country is expected to need about 3.5 million square metres of warehouse space over the next five years.

The region plans at least 100,000 square meters of logistics facilities, including 30,000 square metres this year.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlighted Yazyavan district, ranked 18th in industry, 17th in exports and services, and 15th in agriculture in the region.

The district has been allocated UZS 30 billion this year for business infrastructure, plus UZS 5.5 billion in remaining budget funds.

The AI assessment identified logistics potential along the A-373 highway, where up to 30,000 vehicles pass daily.

Logistics hubs are expected to boost related services, with authorities tasked to increase economic turnover by UZS 1 trillion.

Mirziyoyev ordered $5 billion in industrial zone projects across the region and called for higher-quality investment projects targeting output of at least UZS 50 billion per hectare.

A 7-hectare free trade zone is also planned in Andarkhon neighborhood in Besharyk district near the Tajikistan border.